A Little News

My first day back to work from vacation was anything but a quiet transition from leisure to work. It was, in fact, a fairly exciting day. Before I even got into the office the boss was calling to send me to photograph storm damage.

Alabama is in a fairly active tornado belt. I don’t think it rivals the Midwest with all of its monster storms but we do get our fair share. However, it is a bit unusual to have two in one day in our coverage area. Fortunately, neither one of these produced much damage and no one was injured. Both tornadoes formed from a line of storms that moved through North Alabama Friday morning and neither was actually on the ground for very long, if at all.

The first storm struck a rural section of northeastern Limestone County damaging a couple of barns and one house. One of the witnesses saw a funnel cloud dangling beneath the storm as the damage was being done. The second storm struck the city of Cullman and caused an evacuation after debris from a roof blown off an old warehouse punctured a fuel storage tank causing the worst of the trouble.

The most difficult logistical element in covering storms is often gaining access to the scene. I have not had much trouble from law enforcement or emergency responders. They are usually understanding and let you into an area as soon as the immediate threat is passed. It is a good idea to have you media credentials with you and properly displayed so the officer actually knows you are an accredited member of the media. One of their primary jobs is to keep looters away from the damaged area.

The main trouble can be in simply getting to the scene. Have you ever seen the movie Twister? Remember Rabbit, the guy with all the maps. Maps are invaluable, especially if you don’t know the area extremely well. I covered a tornado once and had to navigate by keeping an eye on the lights of the emergency vehicles to get into a scene. So many trees were down that all the main roads were blocked. I kept my eyes on the flashing red lights until I was able to find a back road that took me in the right direction.

I have found it a good idea to park well outside the affected areas and just walk in. You won’t be able to drive much in the damage zone anyway if the storm was a large one. The debris can also be pretty rough on your tires. Being on your feet also has the advantage that it forces you to move more methodically and talk to people. You will be surprised how much excellent information and personal stories you will hear as you walk around talking to people. Most of the time, the folks who survived the storm are more than willing to tell their story.

The other problem is keeping your equipment dry. Tornadoes are generated by a particular style of thunderstorm that can pour a tremendous amount of rain on you. I have covered storms where the rain was being blown sideways and there was no way to keep the camera dry. There are all kind of good rain covers out there. I don’t happen to own any of them. I usually use a plastic garbage bag and a small towel. When the rain stops you can just rip the bag off and throw it away or stuff it into you bag for future use.

Don’t even try to carry an umbrella with you. Can you say lightning rod!? Umbrella’s also have the nasty habit of folding up in high winds. They also make it nearly impossible to shoot since you have to hold the thing with at least one hand. A good rain coat with a hood is far better. There is also no real good solution to writing in a driving rain. The camera’s voice recorder comes in handy in that situation. If you don’t have a camera with a recorder, invest a few bucks in a digital voice recorder. They work well too.

Finally, shoes are really important. I usually don’t have a pair of rubber boots with me which means I end up ruining my shoes. All the rain creates mud and you will already be walking in junk with nails sticking up in it just waiting to puncture both shoe and foot. A pair of rubber mud/rain boots can really save the day.

About the photos: The top and bottom photos are from the Cullman storm. The middle photos are from the Limestone County storm. The gentleman in the first photo had a tree blown down on his house. He and a friend are removing clothing to a dry location. Canon EOS 5D with a 24-70 f2.8 The next photo shows a man leaving his home after the storm ripped a sun room from the back of his house causing roof damage. Same gear is used in the first three photos. The third photo shows a storm victim checking on farm equipment after the metal shelter was collapsed onto it. The final photo shows traffic moving along in front of the next wave of storms approaching Cullman. EOS 5D with a 70-200 f2.8

Photos copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Writing the post about covering storms yesterday made me think of clouds which are one of my favorite things. Even as a child I loved clouds except when they produced rain that canceled my baseball games. Never the less, clouds have always fascinated me. I used to look up and see shapes, not bunny rabbits and junk like that. I used to see battleships waging war and other cool little kid stuff. Even now, I love to see and photograph clouds. Sometimes they get published, but mostly, I just love clouds and I still shoot them whenever I can.

Cloud photos are kind of my hobby. Everyone should have one and if you love photographing clouds like I do you will find yourself in excellent company and I am not referring to myself here. When I took the History of Photography in college, I was delighted to find that Alfred Stieglitz once did a series of photos of clouds just to quiet his critics. It seems that people found his photographs so perfectly composed that they accused him of posing photos. His response was to shoot a series of clouds and dare anyone to say he had posed them! That is my kind of guy.

I dug around and found a few pictures of clouds that I have shot over the last few years and I am going to share them with you guys. Maybe some of you will share my fascination.

Photos copyright Gary Cosby Jr. and The Decatur Daily. The opinions in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Storm season usually comes in north Alabama right about, oh, now. March, April and May are premiere months for thunderstorms and all the trouble they cause and the wonder they inspire. I can tell you stories of my dad and I sitting on our front porch when I was a kid watching the storms roll in. Later, as volunteer firemen together, we would go out and deal with the detritus of those wonders of nature. Now, as a photojournalist, I chase storms in hope of catching the amazing photos that they occasionally present.

There is a bit of danger associated with storm chasing. There have been times in my career when I was absolutely terrified like the time I was coming back south on Highway 31 near Athens when I was overtaken with a storm producing heavy lightning, hail and very high winds. Normally, when the lightning strikes, you can see under the clouds. Not this night. The cloud just looked like it was laying on the ground and coming right at me, fast! I had nowhere to hide and I was driving a Plymouth Horizon. Talk about the sum of all fears! Obviously I survived that night and I would like to give you guys some tips for surviving as well.

First, if you are a TV reporter or photographer, let me just say “I’m sorry.” My best advice to those of you who stand out in approaching thunderstorms hanging onto microphones and metal tripods is to pray and pray frequently. Now, for those of us who are sane, the rest of the story. If you watch your weather regularly you will probably notice a trend in the movement of storms. Most storms, especially in my part of the world, move along frontal boundaries that tend to stretch from the northeast to the southwest. The storms move along these fronts, usually from the southwest to the northeast so the general drift of the front will be to the east and the storms moving along the front will progress in a northeasterly direction. Historically, most tornado tracks are from the west side of the compass to the east side with most moving from the southwest toward the northeast. There are exceptions, of course.

Now, all that probably sounds like mumbo jumbo unless you have the task of approaching said storm system and are wondering how to do that safely. Knowing the general movement of storm systems shows you that, on average, the safest place to approach a storm from is the south to southeast because the storm will be moving at an angle away from you. This also allows you to choose routes that can parallel a storm. The fact that most tornadoes form under the southern side of the storms also increases your potential for getting a photograph. The problem in the south is that many of our worst storms happen after dark. We have all seen the spectacular pictures of tornadoes in the Midwest where the winds go sweeping or’ the plains. No so the South. Most of our tornadoes come wrapped in heavy rain which makes visibility limited at best. Combine this with the hilly, wooded terrain and the fact that most of these storms happen after dark and you see the problem of approaching them to make pictures.

You will generally do yourself a favor to stay away from the north and northeast side of storms. Your visibility will be ruined and you will run a greater risk of getting nailed by the storm yourself. By the way, as you drive around your area during the day, scout out good locations to shoot from. There are a couple of things to look for as you scout. First, visibility. You can’t shoot what you can’t see. Find areas where you have an unobstructed view and make a mental note of the place. I have a few of these staked out around the counties we cover. The second thing to do is look for cover. If you get caught by a storm, at least have a good ditch to take cover in. It could save your life. There is a very interesting picture shot by a Decatur Daily photographer in 1974 during the massive tornado outbreak that swept across the eastern half of the country. The photo shows several media folks taking cover in a shallow ditch as a second tornado approaches a trailer park in Limestone County. The park had already suffered one hit and a second twister was approaching.

Finally, watch out for the lightning. Many people die every year because they lack the proper respect for lightning. My dad, who is still in the fire service and is a long-time weather nut, says that if you can hear thunder you are in danger. You will be in a lot more dangerous situations than just hearing thunder my friends. The key is to know when to say when. No photo is worth getting struck by lightning to shoot. When the situation become unsafe, head for cover. Wait out the storm from a safe spot and then shoot from behind. You can still get some awesome lightning shots even on the back side. Just keep in mind, you stand a much greater chance of being hit by lightning than you do of being swept away in a tornado so stay safe.

About the photos: The top photo is from a storm that produced a tornado warning as it swept across Decatur. This photo shows the portion of the storm where the tornado would form or was airborne in the curving sweep near the middle of the picture. I was less than a mile from this storm as it crossed Beltline Rd. in Decatur. I was south of the storm which moved from west to east. The second photo shows a funnel cloud beginning to form beneath a cloud last summer. The National Weather Service declared the funnel an anomaly because it formed during an uncharacteristic time of the year and from a storm system that would not normally have produced the funnel. The funnel never even got close to the ground but it was a thrill to actually see on anyway. The final photo is of a lightning strike in Decatur near Lake Morgan along Beltline Rd. I was actually hand holding my camera and using f22 at about 1/4 or 1/2 second and just shooting repeated frames hoping to get lucky. I got lucky alright and scared too. That was as close as I want to be to lightning. I quickly found some shelter after shooting this photo. Than means I ran like mad to get to my car!

Photo copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.